Sick Days
by peace4people
Summary: Ponyboy isn't feeling too well when he comes down with a case of the flu. Luckily the gang is always there to entertain him in sickness and in health. There will be a heavy focus on the relationship of Darry, Soda and Ponyboy. sic!fic
1. Chapter 1

**Well you guys. Here I am again. I've had a really hard last couple of years but I am back and ready to start writing. I plan on continuing my Criminal Minds stories but here is an Outsiders one to get me back into gear! I suppose this takes place right before the book – or after if you like (however you decide to imagine it just know that either way Johnny and Dally are still alive).**

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He could tell you the exact day they started sharing a bed. It had been years and years but Soda never minded sleeping with his kid brother. He could remember, without any hesitation, how it all started. It was the screams in the middle of the night that shook the entire house; Pony drenched in a cold sweat, tangled in his blankets. How could he ever forget that?

No matter how much they would try to comfort Ponyboy with other things, the only way he could sleep through the night was when Soda stayed with him. At first Pony used to timidly ask Soda if he would sleep in his bed but after awhile asking just seemed pointless; Soda would never tell him no. Tonight hadn't been any different. When it was time to go to bed the two boys brushed their teeth, changed clothes, and crawled into the bed together – Soda wrapping a loving arm over his small frame.

That's why Soda thought it was beyond unusual when he rolled over in the middle of the night to find no sign of his brother. He waited a few minutes in the silent dark assuming that Pony had just gone to the restroom but when he hadn't returned in over five minutes Soda decided to get up.

"Pone?" he asked sleepily as he exited the room, the light in the bathroom was off and Darry's door was closed as usual, "Ponyboy?"

"Soda?" came a meek sounding voice.

"Pony, where are y...ow" Soda let out a serious of curse words as his toe got caught on the edge of a table, "Why's it so dark out here? I can't see a thing – I'm turning on a light."

"Don't, Soda. Please." Ponyboy pleaded causing Soda to pause before his finger flipped the switch.

"What's wrong Pony?"

"I don't want Dare to get mad. We can't afford to waste electricity."

"He ain't goin' get mad Ponyboy. But you better start telling me what's going on right now. I know when something is bothering you." Pony didn't say anything in response. "I'm turning on the light now – okay?"

"Yeah. Fine, Soda." The lights slowly flickered on and the boys both squinted as their eyes tried to adjust to the sudden light.

"What's wrong, Pony?" Soda asked walking over towards his kid brother who was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of water. Something was off but he couldn't place it. His eyes seemed distant

"I just can't sleep." Soda knew when people were lying – especially when that person was his little brother. He looked the boy up and down; there was definitely something off but he still couldn't figure out exactly what it was.

"Something is bothering you. Talk to me." The older brother placed a hand on Pony's arm but the younger sibling quickly pulled away.

"Nothing's wrong. Just leave it, Soda."

"Pony..."

"I'm fine!" he practically shouted.

"Pony..." just as he was about to say something else Darry's door opened down the hall.

"Pony, Soda, everything okay?" Darry rubbed a hand over his face as he tried to survey the room and figure out what was happening.

"It's nothing, Dare. Go back to bed." Pony grumbled.

"Hey Kiddo," Darry said strongly as he pointed a finger towards Ponyboy, "don't start giving me attitude. I wake up at three in the morning to the sound of my two kid brothers shouting in the kitchen and you think I'm just going to ignore it?" Suddenly everything caught up with Soda and he realized what was going on.

"Lay off him Darry. He ain't feeling well." Soda interjected. It all made sense now; the sensitivity to light, the flushed cheeks – frankly, the kid looked like shit.

"Is that true Pony?" the youngest brother shrugged. Darry walked over and sat down next to him. He placed the back of his hand on Ponyboy's forehead. "Well you do feel a little warm."

"Pony, do you want me to grab you some aspirins?" asked Soda softly. Pony was never one to admit to being sick but once the secret was out it was hard to deny the facts.

"I already took some." He admitted quietly, "But my head still feels like it's going to explode."

"You probably shouldn't take anymore right now." Darry always had to be strong and firm but when someone was hurt or sick he let go of that façade some,

"Ponyboy, I want you to go lie down and try to get some sleep. You're supposed to have school in the morning and the two of us have work. If you don't feel well when you wake up we'll figure something else out, okay?"

"Yeah, Dare. Okay." Ponyboy said as his head nodded slowly. Darry sighed, if his suspicions were correct, it was going to be a long week. Ponyboy slowly stood up from the table and began to make his way back to his room at the end of the hall. Soda quickly followed suit, ready to take his spot as Pony's nightmare guard.

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**It's a little bit of a slow start but it'll pick up soon – promise. Please let me know what you think and if I should continue this. Thank you for your patience and sorry again that all my stories have been on such a long hiatus. I wish I could explain was has happened in the last two years but that in itself would be an entire novel.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for reading and for the reviews – here is chapter two. : )**

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Pony wasn't too sure what exactly woke him up but he was sure that he really didn't want to be awake. Then a loud crash followed by laughter from outside his door signaled that the gang was most likely responsible. It wouldn't be the first time his friends had served as an unintentional alarm clock.

"Be quiet, Steve! Pony ain't feeling too hot." Came the muffled sound of Soda's voice. Pony could imagine exactly what was happening on the other side of his closed door. Steve and Soda rough housed at least every other morning which resulted in every fragile item in the Curtis' household being held together by super glue.

"Awe, does Baby Grease have a little tummy ache?" Steve mocked loudly while laughing at his own joke.

"No, he just woke up in the middle of the night with a headache." Soda said, his tone changing from jokey to a little more serious.

"I bet he's faking it. He got a track meet today? Or some school test? Kids his age are always trying to get out of things by faking sick." Steve went over to the icebox and opened a bottle of cheap beer. Pony felt his cheeks reddened with embarrassment. It was hard enough for him to admit to being sick without someone accusing him of faking it.

"You fake sick all the time at the DX when there aren't any girls coming by." Soda playfully nudged him and the two friends laughed.

"You bet I do," Steve laughed and hit him back, an action which quickly instigated another wrestling match. Darry came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Quiet down, you two – Pony's still sleeping." Sometimes it was strange the way everyone listened to Darry with virtually no question. He truly had become a father to not just Soda and Pony, but the entire gang as well. Lord knows their own fathers weren't worth shit.

Soda continued getting ready while Steve sat back down on the couch drinking his beer. It didn't take but a few seconds of silence before Steve began again.

"I'm just saying – he's probably over reacting."

"You know Pony ain't like that Steve." There was Darry; strong and defensive, "And it would be damn smart of you to shut your mouth right now."

"It's cool Darry, I'm just teasing." No one could silence a room like Darry could with just one glance. So when he raised his voice you knew you were in trouble.

"Just lay off some, he ain't never done anything to you." Darry said sternly before turning to Soda, "Can you go check on Ponyboy? If he's feeling better he needs to start getting ready for school."

"Sure thing, Dare." Soda walked toward the room at the end of the hall and knocked lightly on the door before entering, "Hey Pony, you awake?"

"Yeah," Pony mumbled as he sat up in bed throwing the covers off himself rather quickly. If he was being honest with himself, he felt a little worse than when he had gone to bed but he didn't want to disappoint his family. He didn't want them to think he was faking.

"Whoa Pone, hold on. You don't have to get up if you don't feel well." Soda said as he walked towards his brother.

"I'm fine, Soda." He began to brush past his brother but Soda caught his arm.

"Hey, are you just saying that because you overheard Steve?" Soda's sweet eyes met with his brother's and exchanged a loving glance. With each second Pony's head throbbed more and more.

"No. I'm feeling better, Soda. I need to go to school. I can't fall behind."

Soda wasn't buying it so placed the back of his hand on his brother's forehead, "Well I 'spouse you are feeling a little cooler than last night. If Dare let's you go to school just promise to take it easy today, okay?"

"Yeah, Soda, I promise." Pony feigned a half smile before he finished getting dressed and walked out into the living room. His throat had begun to ache and his mouth felt dry and sticky at the same time but he wasn't about to stay home.

"You going to school today, Pony?" Darry asked somewhat surprised when he saw his youngest brother fully dressed with his backpack swung over his right shoulder.

"Yeah." Pony said looking down trying to avert his eyes.

"Alright, but you better call if you need anything today." Darry was finished lacing up his shoes, a sign that Pony knew meant they would be leaving shortly. Not half a second later Darry spoke again, "Alright, let's get going – I can't be late for work today."

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**Here's the thing. I don't think Steve is a "bad guy" but I do think he is hurt because of the problems he has with his dad. Like he picks on Pony the same way his father picks on him – what do you guys think? Next chapter will feature a lot more sickness than these last two.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all for the great feedback! Hope you enjoy this chapter too.**

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By the end of first period Ponyboy knew he had made a big mistake by coming to school. His headache was getting worse and each time he swallowed it felt like something was caught in his throat. There was no denying the fact that he felt downright miserable. He thought about calling Darry or Soda to come pick him up but he hated inconveniencing them. Ever since his parents died he couldn't help but feel like a constant burden, especially to Darry. He sighed; no one needed to know that he was feeling worse. After school he would just take a couple of aspirins and sleep it off until they got home from work and if anyone asked he would tell them he was okay.

Pony walked slowly towards his locker and replaced his books with the ones he needed for his second class. Normally he had no problem pushing through the crowded hallways but today it seemed nearly impossible.

"Hey Ponyboy," a familiar voice called over the crowd. Pony turned around to see Two-Bit walking towards him with a small, timid, dark haired boy in toe.

"Hey, Johnny. Hey, Two-Bit." He greeted his friends while trying to smile. Johnny was sporting two new injuries – a busted lip and a black eye.

"Some Soc do that to you Johnny?" Pony asked defensively.

"Nah, man. My dad just drank a little too much last night." Pony felt his heart sink. He hated when Johhny's dad would beat up on him. It was bad enough that Greasers got picked on by Socs but then to go home to a place where your own family hurt you – the idea would have seemed unimaginable if not for the fact that it was reality.

"You hear about Dally?" Two-Bit asked coolly as he took a drag off his newly lit cigarette.

"I don't think you can smoke in here."

"'course I can, Kid. I can do whatever I want." Two-Bit often thought that he was untouchable and, with his charisma, he sometimes was. Two-Bit was older than everyone else in their high school and he rarely showed up for classes but for some reason most of his teachers loved him.

"Tell Pony about Dal."

"Alright, so you know how Dally was seeing that girl..." Pony had stopped listening. It wasn't that he was trying to ignore Two-Bit, he just couldn't focus on the words he was saying, "...well you could imagine Dally's surprise..." someone must have turned the heater on because Pony could feel himself sweating through his shirt, "...so she called the cops..." it was almost unbearable, he leaned against his cool metal locker, "...and that's when he ran into Tim Shepard..." everything around him was spinning, he felt like he was about to pass out.

"You alright there, Pony?" asked Johnny slightly concerned; he could tell something was wrong "Hey, Pony? Pony?"

The younger boy's vision came back into focus at the sound of his name, "What? Yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't get much sleep last night." He lied; since when had he become so good at lying?

"Anyways, the doctor said his rib is just bruised." Said Two-Bit finishing up his story, "Hey Pony, you sure you're feeling okay? You don't look so hot?"

"I said I was fine!" He grumbled, "Sorry, look I didn't mean to raise my voice. I'm just tired that's all."

"It's fine, Kid, I understand. But we should probably head to class. Darrel would kill me if we were late and he finds out I'm the reason why." Two-Bit said only half joking.

"I'm actually going to go to the bathroom first." He needed to cool himself off, "I'll catch up with you guys after school."

"See you Pone." Said Johnny as he and Two-Bit meandered towards their classroom. It was going to be a long day.

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**Chapter three, yay! What did you all think?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews – keep them coming. I swear they're like writing fuel.**

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He was quiet and shy but he wasn't stupid. His parents often said that he was – they said that was the reason he kept to himself so much, because he had nothing to say. Johnny knew different though, he knew the truth about himself. He wasn't dumb; he was just easygoing and didn't talk too much because he liked to observe everything around him. He was like a little gnat on the wall; if he kept quiet, he could hear and see everything.

It was because of how observant he was that Johnny had seen the way Pony had been shaking. He had seen how pale his skin was despite the fact that his cheeks simultaneously burned red. He had seen how the only way he could stand up was when he used his locker for support. Ponyboy wasn't doing too hot and Johnny knew it.

"Hey, I think I'm going to go the bathroom too." Johnny declared right before they entered the classroom.

"Shoot, Kid, you just went to the bathroom." Two-Bit stopped moving and turned around to face the smaller boy. The late bell rang but they both ignored it.

"I know but I...I have to go again, that's all." If Johnny's suspicions were correct, he knew that Pony wouldn't want the whole gang knowing he wasn't feeling well. He was close enough to Pony to know he hated attention like that.

"I think you might have the smallest bladder in all of Oklahoma." Two-Bit said while laughing at his own joke. Johnny only smiled in response, "Alright Kid, I'll catch you later."

"See you 'round, Two-Bit." Johnny said before turning on his heels and quickly walking towards the bathroom. He was short but his legs could carry him fast, especially when he was in a hurry – too often Socs would skip class just to pick on Greasers who were by their lonesome. It had happened to him once before and he would do everything in his power to prevent it from happening again.

"Pony?" Johnny asked as he pushed the men's restroom door open, "Ponyboy, you in here?"

"Johnny?" A tired sounding voice asked. Johnny saw Ponyboy standing in front of one of the mirrors; his hands were shaking as he tightly gripped the sink, "Johnny, that you?"

"Yeah Ponyboy, it's me."

"Johnny, I feel awful." Said Ponyboy as he looked up at his friend.

"I know you do, Ponyboy." Johnny wondered if the boy had thrown up, he looked like he had. His eyes were rimmed with pink, as if he had been crying and sweat was practically dripping from his forehead, "You think you can make it to the nurse's office?"

"No." Pony shook his head softly.

"I'll go get her then." Johnny turned to exit.

"No, Johnny, wait."

"What's the matter, Pony?"

"Don't go get her. Please." He looked up at the black haired boy with tears in his eyes, "I don't want Darry or Soda knowing. If you get the nurse she'll send me home for sure and I..." he coughed a few times and Johnny took the opportunity to interrupt him.

"Don't be crazy, Ponyboy, you need to go home. Darry and Soda won't mind none."

"Yes they will, Johnny." He hated seeing his friend so miserable and yet so stubborn, "We can't afford it. We can't afford for me to be sick and we can't afford for one of them to take off work."

He began to sob, Johnny quickly moved over to the boy and enveloped him in a hug, he could feel the immense heat radiating off his friend, "Ponyboy, everything is going to be alright."

"How do you know that, Johnny?" Pony cried leaning into Johnny's jean jacket.

"I just do, man" The Curtis brothers were strong, they had been through too much together not to be, "Darry ain't goin' get mad at you. For anything, he'll be even more mad if you get sicker by not calling him."

"I guess, Johnny. I guess you're right."

"Let's get you to the nurse, okay?"

Ponyboy nodded and the two boys exited the restroom. As they walked Pony leaned towards the locker lined walls in an attempt to keep himself from falling over. There was no way he could make it through another class – it was silly of him to ever think he could. He was one stubborn kid but Johnny was just glad he had finally agreed to see the nurse.

"Hey, Greasers...shouldn't you be in class?" Johnny's stomach lurched as he saw four Socs standing at the end of the hallway.

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**Please keep reading and reviewing. You guys have no idea how much they mean to me...or send me a PM if you ever want to chat : )!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks again for the reviews. Please keep them coming! : )**

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The hall was empty besides the six boys that occupied it. Class had just begun not five minutes ago which meant it was unlikely that anyone would be out wandering about. Ponyboy used what little energy he had to stand up straight in an attempt to look tougher.

"Look, man..." Johnny said as his voice gave a slight tremble, "...we...we don't want any trouble."

"Greasers are nothing but trouble." Said the Soc who was leading the gang closer and closer to the two boys, "Isn't that right?"

His friends around him laughed, "Mark, what do you say we teach these guys a thing or two about baseball?"

It was then that Ponyboy noticed that two of the four boys were holding long wooden bats in their hands. He had once seen a Greaser from another gang get jumped by two boys with bats and he wondered if they were the same guys. Pony shivered internally remembering what the poor kid had looked like after that beating. Johnny must have been thinking the same thing too because Pony could feel him tense up.

"I think that's a great idea, Sam. What do you say, Grease? We have the bats...you can be the baseballs."

Johnny and Pony exchanged a quick glance. They were beyond acting tough at this point, "Please..."

"Sam – Sid; grab the small one. Teddy and I will take care of this one." The lead Soc, Mark, said as he pointed his bat at Ponyboy. The two blonde Socs pushed Johnny against a row of lockers where he violently squirmed to get free. A bat came up and hit hard against Ponyboy's side, knocking him to the ground and causing him to cry out in pain.

"Leave him alone!" Johnny yelled as he continued to thrash against the boys restraining him.

"Shut him up!" Teddy yelled as Mark hit Pony one more time.

"Hey!" A new voice yelled from the end of the hallway. Ponyboy recognized the voice but he couldn't see who was talking and his brain was too fogged up to try and place it. Johnny on the other hand could see that it was one of the English teachers, Mr. Syme, who was quickly running towards them. "You four, beat it!" he said pointing at the Socs.

They immediately dropped their bats and quickly ran off. Johnny thought for a second about how if four Greasers had been caught beating up two Socs things would have been handled much differently. He didn't waste too much time on the thought though because that was just the way things were and there was no point in sulking over something that you couldn't change.

"Ponyboy," Mr. Syme said as he bent down to examine the younger boy, "you okay?"

Ponyboy was still conscious but he wasn't saying anything so Johnny spoke for him, "He ain't well."

"Well yes, son...I can see that." Mr. Syme said.

"No, I mean we were on our way to the nurse when we got jumped." Johnny explained further looking down at his feet, "He wasn't feeling too hot earlier – I think he's sick."

"Well let's get him back up and I'll help you take him to the nurse." Johnny nodded as he walked over to Ponyboy and looped the boy's arm around his own neck. Mr. Syme did the same on the other side and they soon had Pony standing upright. Slowly they began to walk down the long hallway.

On the way there Johnny decided he liked the teacher. He dressed nicely, which meant he was wealthy, and he was obviously from the South but there was something different about him. Johnny couldn't quiet place it but there was something there.

"Oh," the nurse exclaimed as the three men walked in. Johnny laughed silently for a second – he and Pony were probably quite the site. Between Pony looking like hell and Johnny's injuries from home, she most likely didn't know who was there to see her.

"Gail, one of my students just got into a fight but he wasn't feeling well before then. Would you mind looking him over?"

"Sure thing," she walked over towards Ponyboy, "Well, you definitely don't look too well. Let's start by taking your temperature."

The nurse stuck the thermometer in Ponyboy's mouth and patiently waited for it to beep, "Oh, your poor thing. 101.5, we'll definitely need to call your mom to come pick you up."

"She's dead." Ponyboy said plainly.

"Well we'll call your dad then and he..." the nurse had turned a deep shade of red.

"He's dead too. I live with my brothers. It's just Soda, Darry and me...that's all. It's just the three of us left." Johnny didn't think it was possible but the nurse's cheeks burned even more with embarrassment.

"Well we'll call one of them to come get you then. Why don't..." she stumbled over her words clearly caught off guards by the exchange a few seconds ago, "...why don't you go lie down in the back room and rest for a bit?"

"Sure, thanks..." the nurse helped Pony stand again and the two of them slowly moved towards a room in the back.

Johnny and Mr. Syme sat silently for awhile. Mr. Syme had picked up a random magazine and was pretending to flip through it. Johnny spent several minutes just tapping his fingers to the clicking of the clock that hung over the nurse's front desk.

"You should probably head back to your class." Johnny said suddenly breaking the silence. He had wondered why the man hadn't left yet.

"This is my free hour," the teacher said smiling. Suddenly his expression changed, "Shouldn't you be heading back to class?"

"Nah, Pony would want me to stay." It was true. Ponyboy was sensitive about this sort of thing. He would never admit it to anyone in the gang but Ponyboy had a fear of being abandoned or forgotten but this time it was more than just that. Ponyboy was always stressing about other people; if he came back out to find Johnny missing, he would immediately begin worrying about his friend.

"Can I ask you a question?" Mr. Syme spoke hesitantly and Johnny began to wonder what was coming next. Questions that began with a hesitation were never a good sign.

"Sure" said Johnny as he kicked his feet.

"This isn't my place...I know that..." He paused before continuing, "How are they doing?"

Johnny knew exactly who he meant by _they_, "The Curtises are doing just fine by themselves and they would be doing mighty better if other people minded their own damn business."

Family had always been a sensitive subject for Johnny. The Curtis family was more of a family to him than his own parents would ever be. Mr. Syme sat up straight and spoke in an authoritative voice, "Watch your tone, son."

"I'm sorry," Johnny mumbled quietly.

"I used to help coach varsity football," Mr. Syme began, "that's when I first met Darrel Curtis. That young man flew across the field like nothing we had ever seen before. He alone carried the team to multiple state championships. He was more than just a great athlete though; there was something else about him that just stood out. When someone on the team was having a hard time, he would go out of his way to make that person feel good. If we needed someone to help pick up after a game, Darry was always the first to volunteer. Choosing him for MVP was the easiest thing I ever did.

Well, right after Darrel graduated this bright eyed kid showed up in my Freshmen English class. At first I didn't even know Sodapop and Darry were related. After seeing him play ball for those four years, I figured any kid brother of his would be just as athletic, but Soda never tried out for the football team. He and this kid, Steve Randal, were always causing trouble in my class. In fact, I think they spent more time in the principal's office than in my classroom." Mr. Syme smiled, "They were just two kids having fun, I knew that...still, anytime they would get into a lot of trouble Soda would always stay after class to apologies and volunteer to help out – just like his older brother used to do. Before I met Soda, I used to think only Darry was special like that but I quickly realized their entire family was that way.

Then, at the end of last year, I heard about the accident – read about it in the paper or something. But then school soon got out, the summer came and I spent little time thinking about the Curtis family. That is until, on the first day of school, Ponyboy showed up in one of my sophomore classes. I knew immediately that he was related to Darry and Soda. He ran track fast like his older brother used to run on the football field, and he had the same sweet, whimsical heart like his other brother had. Even so, that light – the one that shone so bright in his brothers – was dimmed and jaded. Then, during the second week of school, I was leaving in a hurry, and I guess I hadn't closed my briefcase all the way because it flew open while I was walking through the hall. Everyone had just gotten out of class so the hallway was still pretty busy but no one helped me pick up the mess except for one person, Ponyboy – it was the exact same thing Darry and Soda would have done – it gave me hope.

It was soon after that though I realized that I hadn't seen Sodapop in the hallway for a couple of weeks. I asked around the records office and found out that he had withdrawn from school." He paused for a moment and rubbed his tired eyes, there was a long pause before he continued, "You know, everyone in this town is so separated between rich and poor, North and South, that people miss the good in life that is right in front of them...if they only opened their eyes...if they only looked around. It isn't right what happened today in the hall...it never is, but the adults barely know how to handle this situation any better than the kids. We just do the best we can, everyone is fighting this battle." He paused and rubbed his eyes once more, "I'm sorry if I crossed a line by asking about the Curtises, and maybe it isn't my place...I just worry about them; it's not too often that you stumble across special people like that. Do you understand?"

Johnny knew it was his turn to talk but he didn't know what to say, so he spoke the first words that came to mind, "You dig okay, My. Syme"

"They're good kids," the older man stood up and began to walk towards the door. Before he left he turned around, and looked deep in Johnny's eyes, "You all are."

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**Well this chapter ended up being longer than I had originally thought. Please let me know what you think of it – I really want your opinions on this chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews! I really enjoy hearing your feedback.**

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At a quarter past eleven Darry's boss pulled up to one of the houses he was roofing. As he saw the white truck approach his heart began to thump loudly against his chest. Mr. Charles rarely left his company's main office building, so if you saw his car coming you usually knew you were in trouble. He watched as his boss tumbled out of his vehicle and waddled towards him. The overweight man was like a bear – mean, aggressive, tough – the only difference was that bears hibernated in the winter; Mr. Charles hibernated all year round.

"Curtis!" The large, older man called up to Darry who was standing on top the ladder, "Someone called the office looking for ya' not too long ago. You know I don't usually call people away in the middle of work but it sounded important. You got a kid brother? Horseboy or something like that..."

"Yes sir," Darry nodded, his heart sped up even quicker, "Ponyboy."

"Well apparently Ponyboy ain't doing too well, he's sick with a fever or something. The nurse over at the high school called about him. Wanted to know if you could go pick him up."

"Sir, I...if you let me go...if I could just...I could pick him up, then...I'll..." Darry was stammering over his words ungracefully.

"Look, I ain't payin' you for the rest of this shift but go ahead and do what you gotta do. You're a good worker, always have been. Just don't make a habit of this." The man grunted as his moustache moved like an angry caterpillar walking across his upper lip.

"Thank you, sir." Darry quickly descended the ladder and ran to his car. _Should've made him stay home_, Darry mentally cursed to himself as he started the engine, _I should have known he was lying about feeling okay_. The school wasn't too far away from the house Darry had been working on, it took him about ten minutes to get there – would have probably taken seven if he hadn't hit every red light.

He was hit with an odd feeling of nostalgia as he approached the school; the football field was the first thing that greeted him as he rounded the corner. Darry often felt uncomfortable visiting his old high school. It had been only three years since he had graduated but so much had changed in that time. Three years ago his parents were still alive and his opportunities seemed endless. Now he was roughing houses and supporting his two kid brothers.

"Hey, Johnny." Darry greeted as he saw the raven haired boy lounging in a chair inside the nurse's office, "You seen Pony? How's he doing?"

Johnny didn't get to answer before the nurse, who Darry would later call overly peppy and downright annoying, interjected, "Are you Darrel Curtis – Ponyboy's brother?"

"Yes ma'am. How's uh...how's he doing? He alright?" Darry had little problem stepping into many of the roles his parents left behind for him but interacting with teachers and such at Ponyboy's high school still felt a little weird.

"Well the fight..." she began.

"Fight?" Darry asked wide eyed and turning to look over at Johnny, "What fight?"

"Earlier, your brother got into a little bit of a brawl with a couple of other students."

"Four Socs jumped us in the hall with bats." Johnny translated.

Darry could feel his blood boiling. If there would be no consequences he would personally find those Socs and teach them a lesson. School was a place where kids should feel safe, not worrying about walking the halls alone.

"The fight only bruised him up a little bit – nothing too serious" she continued talking, "But what I'm most concerned about, and the reason I called you, was because of his fever. It's mandatory that students with a fever over 99.5 be sent home immediately to avoid spreading the contagion. I can't give you an official diagnosis but based on the vomiting, fever, chills, aches and sore throat I believe he's probably suffering from a nasty case of the flu."

"He'll be okay though, right?" Darry was never good at handling illnesses. If someone had a cold he would think they were dying.

"Of course. He just needs to drink plenty of fluids and should get a lot of rest. The next couple of days won't be pleasant but he'll definitely be fine."

"Is there anything else I should know?" Since their parents died the brothers had only dealt with illness twice. Once when almost the entire gang got food poisoning from some cheap burger joint, and again when Darry got a cold from working overtime in the rain.

"Not really," she said answering his question, "Although, I will tell you, the flu tends to be pretty contagious, Mr. Curtis. I hope you received a vaccine this year."

"It was mandatory for my job." Darry said nodding, it had cost him a fortune but it was cheaper than being laid off for not getting one, "Where is he – can I see him now?"

"He's sleeping." She pointed towards a room in the back. Darry nodded and walked towards the slightly ajar door. When he pushed it open the intrusive light eagerly invaded the dark room which caused the small figure on the bed to stir slightly.

"Hey, Ponyboy." Darry said softly with a half smile, "I hear you ain't feeling too hot."

"'m sorry, Dare." Pony said immediately upon seeing his oldest brother, "I tried to tell her not to call you but she said..."

"Whoa, Pony. It's okay." Darry said as he rubbed his brother's back sweetly, "I told you to call me if you got worse."

"You ain't mad?" Pony asked still half asleep, his eyes rolled slightly and he was unable to focus his vision in his current feverish state.

"Not at all." As Darry continued to rub Pony's back he suddenly realized just how hot the boy was. He placed the back of his hand on his brother's forehead, "Damn, Ponyboy, you sure are hot. I'm going to take you to the car, okay?"

"Sure thing, Dare." Pony said as his eyes continued to flutter shut. Darry searched the room for Pony's school stuff. When he found it, he swung the book bag over his shoulder and then walked back to the cot that his brother was sleeping on. Darry placed one arm towards the top of Pony's back, the other where his knees bent, and in one fluid motion, he lifted the small boy up. Once he was sure that he hadn't left any of Pony's things behind, he exited the back room and reentered the main nursing area.

"Johnny, you want to finish up your classes or come home with us?" Darry asked turning towards the small boy.

"I'll stay here. Two-Bit and I are lab partners for our next class together; he'd probably skin me if I didn't show up." Darry nodded in understanding before turning to the nurse.

"Thank you for watching out for him."

"It was my pleasure." Nurse Gail said while smiling, "Just make sure he continues to get rest, and take him to a doctor if he gets any worse."

"Thanks again," Darry said once more before he continued to carry Ponyboy to the car. At that point Darry had no idea just how stressful the next couple of days would end up being.

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**Thanks again for reading and reviewing. This is random, but sometimes I think of doing one-shot spinoffs of my own story – is that weird? Like last chapter I thought about doing one with Steve and Soda causing trouble in Mr. Syme's class and in this chapter I thought about doing one with the gang getting food poisoning. I would make it another story and it would just be a collection of little one-shot spinoffs...they could be read as stand alones but they would all come from inside one of my chapter stories, if that makes any sense. What is your opinion of that idea/would you be interested in reading something like that? It's probably stupid, it was just a thought I had while procrastinating.**


	7. Chapter 7

**You guys are awesome! Happy Friday, by the way! I went ahead and started the one-shot story, it's called "Our Life: A Series of One-Shots." Please go check it out if you get a chance. Now, back to our feature presentation...**

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By the time they had pulled onto the main street, Ponyboy was slowly waking up. It probably had something to do with his parents dying in an automobile wreck, but driving made Pony uneasy recently. When he was a baby his parents would drive him around when he was crying because it used to calm him down; now he could hardly stand much more than fifteen minutes in a car.

The summer before the gang had driven over to Stillwater to see Dally compete in a rodeo. It wasn't anything too fancy, just a small, local competition but Dally was really proud of the horse he was going to be riding and practically begged them all to come – "Ponyboy, I'll do your chores for a week," "Darry, I'll give you half my winnings to pay for gas," "Johnny, you ever been to a rodeo, kid? You have to come, man." "Steve, there are cute broads everywhere," "Soda, you've always loved horses," "Two-Bit...there's cheap beer."

Dally rarely asked for anything, he thought it was a sign of weakness or something, so they knew that if he was trying to bribe people, it had to be pretty damn important to him. That Friday everyone, except Johnny who had been forced to stay home, got in the car and drove to the rodeo. Stillwater was only about an hour and a half away but it took them nearly three because of Pony continuously requesting to stop at the rest stations.

"We almost home, Darry?" Ponyboy asked suddenly rubbing a hand over his face, he felt worn down and groggy. Darry looked over at his younger brother; he hadn't realized he had woken up.

"Hey, little buddy." Darry smiled while turning his eyes back towards the road, "How you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess." Pony said shrugging and turning to look out the window. He might not be able to hide the fact that he was sick but that didn't mean he had to tell Darry just how bad he felt. Everyone was always treating him like a baby and Ponyboy was tired of it. Just because he was born last it didn't mean he was any less tough than the other guys in the gang.

"We'll be home soon." Darry said when he saw Pony fidgeting in his seat uncomfortably, he knew his little brother hated being in the car for too long, "We just need to stop and get some supplies first."

"What kind of supplies. You fixin' up the house or something?" Pony asked turning towards his older brother. The last time they had gone out for supplies it was so that Darry could patch up a hole in the roof – they had been keeping a small pot underneath the hole to catch rainwater, but the three brothers had quickly grown tired of emptying it out every time it stormed.

"No," Darry said as he pulled into the grocery store parking lot, "We just need to get some medicine, you know? Stuff like that."

"Darry, you know we can't afford anything fancy. I'm fine with just taken a few aspirin, that's all I need." He knew he was trouble and he hated causing Darry the financial stress. It wasn't fair to him.

"Ponyboy, I'm the one who takes care of the bills. I know what we can and can't afford. So stop worrying and start acting like a kid again. Okay, kid?" He spoke sternly but with a slight smile. He hated how Pony was always worrying about money; he just wanted the poor kid to have a normal life. The last year had been really rough on everyone – especially Ponyboy. It wasn't fair to him.

"Sure, Darry." Ponyboy slumped slightly in his seat. His headache was coming back at full speed and his stomach was starting to churn. Darry reached over and playfully rubbed his brother's hair until it became disheveled and messy.

"Knock it off, Dare. I'm going to have to add more grease now when we get home." Ponyboy said as he looked at his own reflection in the rearview mirror.

"I'll be right back – stay in the car." Darry said before slamming the door shut. Ponyboy watched as his brother sauntered into the store. His brother always walked with such confidence and pride, it was something Pony had always admired about him.

He laid his head against the window; the coolness of it provided him with some sort of comfort. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, the sickening feeling was rising in his throat. Ponyboy cranked the driver's side window down to get some fresh air but it didn't seem to be helping. It was at times like this especially that he wished his parents were still alive. They always knew how to make their children feel okay again. No matter what, his mother's homemade soup always seemed to make people feel better whether they drank it for a sore throat, flu, cough, stomach bug, winter cold, anything. In fact, two years ago Soda and Sandy had gotten into a huge fight over something real stupid and so small that Ponyboy couldn't even remember what it was. When Soda came home crying that night his mom fixed him up a bowl of it and he felt better almost instantly. After that Soda went around for months swearing up and down that his mother's cooking could even cure heart break.

Suddenly Pony's stomach rolled uncomfortably and he felt the blood drain from his clammy face. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to make the feeling go away. When he realized the inevitable was about to happen Ponyboy whipped the door open, jumped out of the car and proceeded to lose what little food he had remaining in his stomach. His body shivered and convulsed with each heave. After about a minute he brought a shaking hand up to his face and wiped his mouth clean.

"Ponyboy!" Darry called angrily from across the parking lot, "What did I say about staying in the car?" Darry walked over to his younger brother who was leaning against the outside of the truck. The boy didn't say anything in return; he just looked down at where he had exercised the contents of his stomach. Darry followed the direction of his brother's gaze while Ponyboy began to cry softly with embarrassment.

"Oh, Pony." He said pulling his tearful brother into a hug, "Let's get you home."

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**Thanks again, you guys! Please continue to review – it means a lot to me and I love hearing your opinions. Whenever I'm in class and I see that someone left a review it always brightens my day. I mean, heck, your words of encouragement are why I went ahead and created the one-shot series. Thanks again for reading, everyone!**


	8. Chapter 8

**You guys, I swear that there is this crazy phenomenon that whenever I write a sick!fic I end up getting sick – it happens without fail, ugh.**

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As they pulled into the driveway Ponyboy jolted out of the car and headed straight to the bathroom. Darry knew he would want his privacy so he took his time in getting the bags out of the car, when he finally did enter the house he could hear the faint sound of retching coming from behind the bathroom door. He set the bags down on the kitchen counter and hesitated there for a few moments waiting for the gagging to end.

After the sounds didn't stop for awhile Darry knew what he would have to do. Whether the younger boy would like or not, Darry could no longer stand the idea of Pony being alone. If their mother was still around she would be right next to him, stroking his back and singing softly. He filled up a cup of water and knocked on the bathroom door, "Ponyboy, I'm comin' in."

"Go away, Darry." Pony mumbled into the toilet bowl as another wave of nausea hit him. He began to heave once more – Darry cringed at the sound. That was it, he ignored what his younger brother said and pushed the door open. The boy was kneeling next to the toilet, his hands shaking as they gripped the sides of the ceramic basin. His cheeks burned bright red but the rest of his face was paler than the moon. Darry could see that the younger boy was having trouble just keeping his eyes open.

"Glory, kid." he let out a sigh as he tried to take in the image in front of him. He hated seeing his kid brother looking so sick and tired. Accumulated sweat caused his clothes and hair to stick to his salty skin making him look weak and thin.

"Darry," he groaned as he wrapped his arms around his stomach, "I feel terrible."

"I know you do, Pone." He said lovingly as he handed the boy the cup of water, "You need to drink this. You lost a lot of water from all that throwing up and we need to keep you hydrated."

Ponyboy shook his head, "I can't."

"You need it." He spoke soft and sweet as he sat down on the floor next to his brother. He reached out and touched the boy's forehead to gage how high his fever had gotten.

"I'll just throw it back up." Pony moaned. He brought up a shaking hand and brushed it through his drenched hair.

"You might not, little buddy" He reasoned with a half smile and held out the cup for his brother to take.

"I will, Darry." He said exhaustedly as he laid his head against the bathroom wall, "I can't keep _anything_ down."

"Well Ponyboy, that's why you need to try and drink this, we need to keep you hydrated." He was getting slightly annoyed. One of the reasons he and Pony were always fighting was because they were both too damn stubborn for their own goods. One time Darry wouldn't allow Ponyboy to leave the dinner table until he finished his peas which he claimed were too mushy and "not even worthy of being pig food." He refused to eat another bite and Darry refused to let him leave. Their stand offs always started strong but eventually they would start talking about something else and completely forget what they were even fighting over in the first place.

"I don't want the water." He repeated himself pushing the cup back towards Darry.

"Just drink it, damnit" he said the words more sternly than he intended; Ponyboy's fevered eyes looked like they might begin to cry, "Look, Ponyboy...I...I didn't mean to raise my voice but I just don't want you getting any sicker than you already are."

"It's fine, Darry." He mumbled quietly, "I'm sorry for always causing so much trouble."

Darry's heart sank, "You ain't causin' any trouble Ponyboy and you hardly ever do. I just want you to feel better and I think this will help, okay?"

"I'll try drinking some in a little bit," Ponyboy said standing up – he swayed slightly before regaining his balance, "I'm going to go lay down for a little bit."

"Sure thing, Pone." Darry said with a light smile. This wasn't what he signed up for. He didn't care about looking after his brother but it wasn't the constant worrying about them that got to him. He just wished things could go back to how they used to be, when he could be their brother – not their mother and father.

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**Sorry – I know this is shorter than normal but I really need to try and sleep this off haha. Expect a lot more action and visits from the gang in the coming chapters! Please review if you get a chance, it'll make me feel better : )**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, guys! Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

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He walked around the kitchen restlessly not knowing what to do with himself. Ponyboy was fast asleep and had been for several hours now. He thought about cooking him up some soup but he knew that the boy would refuse to consume it and it would just get thrown out anyways. Suddenly the sound of their front door opening and closing interrupted his mindless thoughts. He could hear two pairs of boot clad feet walking in.

"Darry?" Soda shouted from the entryway, "I saw the truck outside; you get off early or something?"

"Hey, Pepsi-Cola," he said walking around the corner, "How was work?"

Steve was with him, "It was fine, Dare. Why you home so early?"

He could see the worry plastered on his brother's face. Everyone knew that whenever Darry came home before he was scheduled to it wasn't a good sign. In fact, the last time he had gotten off work early was the afternoon their parents had passed away. On that day Soda had come home expecting to find his mother in the kitchen cooking the family dinner and his father reading a paper in his lounge chair. Instead he found Darry sitting numbly in his father's seat, tears running down his classically strong face 'They're gone, Soda. How am I supposed to tell him? How do we tell Pony? They're gone. They're really gone.'

"Ponyboy's school called..."

"Is he okay?" Soda asked quickly interrupting him; his voice was laced with concern.

"Yeah, little buddy. He wasn't doing too hot earlier so his school had me come over and pick him up but he's doing better. Boy, he was a mess earlier, had me really worried. He still can't keep anything down but he was at least able to fall asleep."

Soda walked over to the icebox and pulled out two drinks for Steve and himself; as he handed one of the bottles to his friend he set his own on the counter, "I'm going to go check on him."

Darry nodded his approval and Soda walked back towards the bedroom. He knocked lightly on the door, "Hey, Ponyboy. You up?"

"You home early, Soda?" Pony's voice was raw and groggy.

"No, Pone. It's nearly six." His heart ached with empathy – he hated seeing his brother like this.

"It's that late?" he asked sitting up slightly in the bed. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm; Soda could tell that he was completely out of it.

"Yeah, honey." The older boy walked over and sat down on the edge of his bed, "How you feeling?"

"Awful," he groaned, Soda brushed a strand of damp hair off his brother's forehead, "Soda?"

"What's up, Ponyboy?" Soda asked lovingly.

"Can you get me another blanket, it's freezing." The boy was wrapped in at least two blankets already and was wearing a sweater over his pajamas.

"Pony, it's got to be at least 80 degrees in here – you can't possibly be cold." But the boy shivering under his touch told another story, "Glory Pony, you must have a pretty awful fever if you really think it's cold."

"I don't have a fever, Soda. I'm just cold, that's all. I probably just had a migraine earlier, I just need to sleep a little bit longer and then I'll...I'll be fine, Soda." His brother wasn't buying it, so he repeated himself for emphasis, "I don't have a fever."

"Ponyboy, you and I both know this ain't some migraine." His tender hand rested on his brother's glistening forehead, "And you definitely have a fever. Let me go get Darry."

A quick hand reached out and grabbed his arm, "Please don't get Darry. I caused him enough trouble earlier today. Did he tell you that I cost him half a day's pay? I know he's mad at me. He yelled at me earlier for not drinking any water."

"Oh, Pony." Soda sighed, sometimes he forgot just how young his brother was, "Darry ain't mad at you at all, he's just a little worried about you." Soda sat back and continued to stroke his brother's hair, "We both are."

"Well I didn't ask you to worry about me."

"No, you didn't, but you're our kid brother and it's our job to worry." Said Soda softly with a sincere smile, "I'm going to get the thermometer to check on your fever."

A few minutes passed before Soda returned with a damp wash cloth and thermometer, "Open up, Ponyboy."

"Soda, I'm honestly feeling a lot better and..."

"Ponyboy Michael Curtis, I know when you aren't being truthful. I've been your big brother for fourteen years, you can't trick me, you should know better than that." Ponyboy didn't say anything else but he opened his mouth – any more protesting would fall onto deaf ears.

He placed the washcloth on his brother's forehead; Pony flinched at the sudden coolness. A few minutes passed until Soda pulled the thermometer out of his brother's mouth and held it up to the light to read, "Lord Pony – 102.4"

"Don't tell Darry." Pony pleaded with sad eyes.

"Pony..."

"You said it yourself, Soda...he'll...he'll just worry about me and that won't do none of us any good. I promise to keep on resting. Just don't tell him about the fever."

Soda bent down and kissed his forehead, he really was burning up, "I don't like keeping things from Darry. You know that, Ponyboy." There was a long pause, "But I won't go out of my way to tell him."

"Thanks, Soda. I mean it, thanks." Soda smiled.

"Now try and get some more rest, okay?" The boy didn't answer, he was already fast asleep. As quietly as possible Soda turned off the light and exited the room.

"How is he?" Darry asked in a low voice from his usual seat in the living room.

"He's definitely been better – he looks awful." Soda said sitting down next to Steve on the couch, "He'll be fine though, just needs some rest."

"Guess that kid brother of yours wasn't faking after all." Steve said as he downed the rest of his drink.

"Told you he doesn't work like that," said Soda as he kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his shirt, "Ponyboy just ain't like that. He hates attention when he's sick, he would never go and fake it."

Steve laughed, "Well shoot, who doesn't like attention? When I get sick Evie does everything I ask for."

"She's too good for you" Darry joked from the other side of the room.

"Hell, I know that, Superman." Steve continued laughing. Soda smiled as he finally was able to sit back and relax after a long day of work. Sometimes Soda felt like his life never slowed down. Between work, Sandy and Ponyboy – he was always busy with something.

"You want to play some poker?" Steve asked pulling out a deck of playing cards.

"Yeah, sure." Soda said with a smile. Who said relaxing meant you had to be doing nothing?

"Darry, you in?"

"We playing for money?" Darry asked lowering the newspaper he was reading and eyeing the boy carefully.

"Sure, why not?" said Steve, the ends of his lips turning into a smile.

"Yeah, I'm in."

Steve had just begun shuffling the deck of cards when a scream suddenly echoed throughout the entire room.

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**Hope you all are still enjoying! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	10. Chapter 10

**If I could keep my life together for more than a few seconds at a time, I would update like I used to. I apologize for these delays, they are inexcusable and disappointing. Nevertheless, I can promise you that I will finish this story and all of my others; it just won't be at the speed that you are used to. Thank you for bearing with me – words cannot describe my appreciation.**

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Kings, Queens, and Jacks danced gallantly through the air as Steve lost his grip on the cards and they flew from his hands. Soda was the first one up and racing to Pony, he moved so quickly that Darry would later joke; _maybe we could get you a track scholarship_. When he arrived he could see his younger brother lying in bed, a tangled mess of blankets and sweat; the sheets were soaked through and Pony's hair was so damp it looked as if he had walked through a rainstorm. His breaths were labored as he continued to thrash about almost hitting Soda, who was kneeling beside him.

"Pony," he shook his shoulder, "Pony – get up." The other two boys watched speechless as Soda attempted to wake the youngest greaser. Their silence was broken only a few seconds later when Darry snapped out of his daze – he had never seen someone look so sick.

"Steve, go get some cool water and a washcloth from the bathroom." The stunned boy nodded his head, mumbled a quick "sure, Dare," before quickly exiting the room.

"Come on, Pony." Soda said stroking the younger boy's hair back, "Come on, honey, I need you to wake up."

"Soda, we need to call a doctor, he's ain't well." Darry's voice came out strong and commanding over the commotion

"Yeah, Dare, I can see that." He snapped before quickly adding, "I'm sorry...I just...you know he would hate that."

"I know, little buddy," he said calmer, "but sometimes you can't just be his friend, you have to be his older brother too."

"S-s-soda?" Pony stuttered as his eyes began to open, "Soda, it's so cold in here."

"Pony, why were you screaming? Did you have a bad dream, is something hurting you?"

"It all hurts, Soda. Bad dream though..." The boy's fevered eyes scanned the room slowly and they finally landed on Darry who was still standing silently in the door's shadow. Ponyboy frantically looked back to Soda, "You didn't tell Darry, did you? Soda, you promised, you said you wouldn't tell Darry."

"Tell me what?" Darry's voice was now a mix between worry and anger, "Soda, what's he talking about?"

"Shh, Ponyboy, calm down" Soda stroked his hair away from his forehead, "you're getting yourself all worked up over nothing and frankly I don't think your body can handle that right now."

"Soda," Darry's voice was threatening now, "What ain't you telling me?"

"Later, Dare." He said in a hushed voice, "I'll tell you later. You're going to stress out Pony if you keep asking."

"Listen here, kid brother, what did I just say about being his friend..." The oldest boy began but stopped talking when Steve returned with the basin and towel, so instead he took the two items and moved to the end of Ponyboy's bed. He dipped the cloth into the water, enjoying the few seconds of tranquility amongst the chaos in the room. He rung the towel out before handing it to Soda, who immediately began applying it to Pony's forehead.

"Ponyboy, how are you feeling?" Steve asked as he pulled up the desk chair and sat down near the bed. Soda smiled to himself, he knew that Steve hated how quiet it was in the room and was trying to make small talk to make up for that silence. Between his dad yelling at him and always being with the gang, Steve rarely encountered complete silence like this and when he did, he desperately tried to end it. Sometimes he would say stupid things that would start fights just so he didn't have to be left when his own thoughts; at least, that was Soda's theory.

"Ugh..." Ponyboy mumbled seemingly becoming more and more conscious of his surroundings, "I guess there's no point in saying 'I'm fine' anymore, is there?"

"None." Said Darry with his arms folded tightly across his chest.

"You look like you got run over by a train...shit...sorry, kid...I didn't mean like your...I was..."

"It's cool, Steve." Ponyboy said with a half smile, it was all he had energy for at this point.

"I'm going to go back out to the kitchen...you guys need anything – Soda, Darry?" he got up quickly and walked out before anyone could answer him.

"You know, Steve doesn't mean to be..." Soda began when he knew his friend couldn't hear the conversation

"Yeah, Soda, I know." Ponyboy tried sitting up in bed but strong hands held him back.

"Not a chance, little buddy." Said Darry, "you need to try and rest."

"I'm tired of resting." Pony said before swatting at his brother who was still applying the damp cloth to his head, "Soda, knock it off."

"You, knock it off. I don't care if you're sick or not – watch that attitude of yours."

"...sorry..." Pony mumbled as he slid back under the covers.

"I'm going to take your temperature and then you're going to try and get some sleep, okay?"

"Sure, Darry." He answered as his brother was already standing and walking out of the room.

"He's worried about you."

"...I know..."

"Look at you, you're pouting like a puppy." Soda joked with a smile

"I ain't pouting, Sodapop."

"Scout over, and let me climb into bed with you." Pony obliged as Soda moved beside him and wrapped a protective arm around his chest, "Don't worry about nothin' Pony, it'll all work out."

"I know," he replied with a yawn, "Thanks, Soda."

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**Not much of a cliffhanger but...(spoiler below)**

**Sick!Soda starting next chapter.**

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing, you guys are the best. I sincerely mean that.**


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